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Job 42:1–6

Job’s Confession

1 Then Job answered the Lord and said,

2 “I know that aYou can do all things,

And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

3 ‘Who is this that ahides counsel without knowledge?’

“Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,

Things btoo wonderful for me, which I did not know.”

4 ‘Hear, now, and I will speak;

I will aask You, and You instruct me.’

5 “I have aheard of You by the hearing of the ear;

But now my beye sees You;

6 Therefore I retract,

And I repent in dust and ashes.”

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Job 42:1–6 — The New International Version (NIV)

Then Job replied to the Lord:

“I know that you can do all things;

no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me to know.

“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.’

My ears had heard of you

but now my eyes have seen you.

Therefore I despise myself

and repent in dust and ashes.”

Job 42:1–6 — English Standard Version (ESV)

Then Job answered the Lord and said:

“I know that you can do all things,

and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’

Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

‘Hear, and I will speak;

I will question you, and you make it known to me.’

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,

but now my eye sees you;

therefore I despise myself,

and repent in dust and ashes.”

Job 42:1–6 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

Then Job answered the Lord, and said,

I know that thou canst do every thing,

And that no thought can be withholden from thee.

Who is he that hideth counsel

Without knowledge?

Therefore have I uttered that I understood not;

Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak:

I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear:

But now mine eye seeth thee.

Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent

In dust and ashes.

Job 42:1–6 — New Living Translation (NLT)

Then Job replied to the Lord:

“I know that you can do anything,

and no one can stop you.

You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’

It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about,

things far too wonderful for me.

You said, ‘Listen and I will speak!

I have some questions for you,

and you must answer them.’

I had only heard about you before,

but now I have seen you with my own eyes.

I take back everything I said,

and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”

Job 42:1–6 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

Then Job answered the Lord and said:

“I know that You can do everything,

And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.

You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’

Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,

Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

Listen, please, and let me speak;

You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,

But now my eye sees You.

Therefore I abhor myself,

And repent in dust and ashes.”

Job 42:1–6 — New Century Version (NCV)

Then Job answered the Lord:

“I know that you can do all things

and that no plan of yours can be ruined.

You asked, ‘Who is this that made my purpose unclear by saying things that are not true?’

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand;

I talked of things too wonderful for me to know.

You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak.

I will ask you questions,

and you must answer me.’

My ears had heard of you before,

but now my eyes have seen you.

So now I hate myself;

I will change my heart and life.

I will sit in the dust and ashes.”

Job 42:1–6 — American Standard Version (ASV)

Then Job answered Jehovah, and said,

I know that thou canst do all things,

And that no purpose of thine can be restrained.

Who is this that hideth counsel without knowledge?

Therefore have I uttered that which I understood not,

Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak;

I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.

I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear;

But now mine eye seeth thee:

Wherefore I abhor myself,

And repent in dust and ashes.

Job 42:1–6 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

And Job answered Jehovah and said, I know that thou canst do everything, and that thou canst be hindered in no thought of thine. Who is he that obscureth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered what I did not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and inform me. I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee: Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

Job 42:1–6 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Then Job answered the Lord

“I know that you can do everything 

and that your plans are unstoppable. 

“⸤You said,⸥ ‘Who is this that belittles my advice 

without having any knowledge ⸤about it⸥?’ 

Yes, I have stated things I didn’t understand, 

things too mysterious for me to know. 

“⸤You said,⸥ ‘Listen now, and I will speak. 

I will ask you, and you will teach me.’ 

I had heard about you with my own ears, 

but now I have seen you with my own eyes. 

That is why I take back what I said, 

and I sit in dust and ashes to show that I am sorry.” 

Job 42:1–6 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Then Job replied to the Lord:

I know that You can do anything

and no plan of Yours can be thwarted.

You asked, “Who is this who conceals My counsel with ignorance?”

Surely I spoke about things I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me to know.

You said, “Listen now, and I will speak.

When I question you, you will inform Me.”

I had heard rumors about You,

but now my eyes have seen You.

Therefore I take back my words

and repent in dust and ashes.

Job 42:1–6 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Then Job answered the Lord:

“I know that you can do all things,

and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’

Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,

things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

‘Hear, and I will speak;

I will question you, and you declare to me.’

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,

but now my eye sees you;

therefore I despise myself,

and repent in dust and ashes.”

Job 42:1–6 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Then Job answered Yahweh and said,

“I know that you can do all things,

and any scheme from you will not be thwarted.

‘Who is this darkening counsel without knowledge?’

Therefore I uttered, but I did not understand;

things too wonderful for me, but I did not know.

‘Hear and I will speak;

I will question you, then inform me.’

By the ear’s hearing I heard of you,

but now my eye has seen you.

Therefore I despise myself

and repent in dust and ashes.”

Job 42:1–6 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

Job replied to the Lord,

“I know that you can do anything.

No one can keep you from doing what you plan to do.

You asked me, ‘Who do you think you are to disagree with my plans?

You do not know what you are talking about.’

I spoke about things I didn’t completely understand.

I talked about things that were too wonderful for me to know.

“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak.

I will ask you some questions.

Then I want you to answer me.’

My ears had heard about you.

But now my own eyes have seen you.

So I hate myself.

I’m really sorry for what I said about you.

That’s why I’m sitting in dust and ashes.”


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